Casey Conway POV:

With the heavy brass key pressing into my palm, I stood at the base of Kaden's dormitory building. It was a sleek, modern apartment complex reserved for high-ranking warriors—a stark contrast to the cramped, forgotten quarters Kaden had left me in since our bonding.

I didn't go up immediately. Instead, I took a seat on a wrought-iron bench in the landscaped courtyard. It was mid-afternoon, the perfect time for the Pack's idle wives and gossips to be out enjoying the sun.

It didn't take long. Two middle-aged Omega women soon spotted the unfamiliar face in their territory. Even from the fringes of the Pack, I knew her mouth was the source of half our rumors.

"Hello, dear," A woman chirped, her eyes darting over my simple clothes. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Brenda, and this is my friend Patty. Are you new to the building? Who are you looking for?"

I forced my shoulders to slump, deliberately adopting the timid, soft-spoken demeanor of a sheltered Omega. "I'm Casey," I murmured, looking down at my hands. "I'm here waiting for my mate, Kaden Reynolds."

Brenda froze. Patty gasped. They exchanged a wide-eyed, scandalous look.

"Kaden's mate?" Brenda echoed, her voice pitching up in disbelief. "But... isn't his mate Jennifer Conley?"

I let my breath hitch, widening my eyes in perfectly feigned devastation. "Jennifer Conley? Who is that? Kaden never... he never mentioned another woman to me."

Before they could offer their pity, I reached into my bag with trembling fingers. "That can't be right. We were legally bonded three years ago. Look."

I pulled out our official Pack marriage certificate, unfolding the heavy parchment so the Alpha's seal and our signed names were clearly visible. Brenda practically leaned over my lap to read it.

"Goddess," she breathed. "It's real."

Like blood in the water, the scent of a scandal drew a crowd. Other residents drifted over, their whispers buzzing like angry hornets. Two mates? How could Kaden? Look at the poor girl. I kept my head bowed, letting a single, calculated tear slip down my cheek. I had successfully cast myself as the pitiful, deceived wife.

"Excuse me? What is going on here?" a sweet, melodic voice cut through the murmurs.

The crowd parted. A girl stepped through, looking like a vision in a flowing, pastel sundress. Her golden hair caught the sunlight, and her wide, doe-like eyes scanned the crowd with practiced innocence. She looked like a concerned angel descending upon the chaos.

"I'm Jennifer Conley," she announced softly, offering a gentle, disarming smile to the crowd before turning her attention to me. "Is everything alright? You look a bit lost."

I let out a choked gasp, my eyes instantly filling with tears. I clutched the certificate tighter against my chest, my shoulders trembling visibly. "I'm Casey," I whispered, making sure my voice was just fragile and loud enough to carry over the hushed crowd. "Kaden's... Kaden's wife."

A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers.

"Wife? Kaden is married?" an older woman whispered loudly. "I thought he was courting the Alpha's daughter!" another chimed in, eyes darting between us.

Jennifer's angelic mask slipped for a fraction of a second—a flash of pure panic in her eyes—before she quickly covered her mouth. Tears instantly welled in her eyes, falling on cue.

"Wife? No, no, there must be some mistake," she stammered, her voice shaking with fragile disbelief. "Kaden and I... we're together. He told me he was single. He promised me we were going to be mates."

She looked around at the crowd, playing the victim flawlessly. "I had no idea, I swear! Why would he lie to me?" She took a step toward me, reaching out as if to comfort me. "Oh, you poor thing. He played us both."

I had learned everything I could about the woman who was parading around with my mate. I knew exactly how dangerous her sweet, innocent act could be. So, I decided to play her game, only better.

I shrank back from her touch, letting a single, perfect tear roll down my cheek. I looked at her with wide, devastated eyes.

"Played us?" I sobbed softly, my voice breaking in all the right places. "But... but I've been waiting for him every single day. I take care of his home. We've been legally married for three years."

I held up the marriage certificate with trembling hands, making sure the Alpha's official seal caught the sunlight. "The Alpha himself signed this."

I looked at Jennifer, my expression morphing into one of pitiful, heartbreaking sympathy. "Miss Jennifer, you are an Alpha's daughter. You are so beautiful and noble. You must have been deceived, right? Because... because someone of your status would never willingly lower herself to be a... a mistress."

The word hung in the air. Mistress.

The courtyard erupted into furious whispers, the tide of public opinion turning instantly.

"Three years? And the Alpha signed it? There's no way her family didn't know!" a man muttered in disgust.

"Playing the victim when she's the homewrecker. How shameless," a woman sneered, glaring at Jennifer. "A high-born Alpha's daughter, sneaking around with a married man. Disgusting."

Jennifer let out a soft, wounded sob, burying her face in her hands. She was good, but the physical proof in my hands—and my flawless performance of the heartbroken, devoted wife—was better. The neighbors who had adored her moments ago were now staring at her with open disdain.

Before she could spin another web of lies, a heavy, furious voice boomed across the courtyard.

"What the hell is all this commotion?!"

CASEY CONWAY POV:

Kaden Reynolds pushed his way through the murmuring crowd. He was still in his training gear, sweat dampening the dark hair on his forehead. He looked annoyed, his jaw set in a hard line.

His eyes swept over the scene, landing on me for a split second before darting to Jennifer's pale, tear-stained face.

Seeing him, Jennifer let out a fragile sob. She practically threw herself into his arms, clinging to his solid chest as if her legs could no longer support her. "Kaden," she whimpered, burying her face in his neck, playing the helpless victim to perfection. "I'm so scared... this woman came out of nowhere, saying terrible things..."

Kaden wrapped a protective arm around her waist, patting her back soothingly. Then, he fixed his cold, unfamiliar gaze on me.

I stood my ground, my spine stiff. I stared back at him—the man I had once loved, the man who had abandoned me in a cold, empty room for three years while he played house with another woman.

"Kaden," I said, my voice remarkably steady despite the storm raging inside me. "Aren't you going to explain? Who is this woman?"

I held up the bonding certificate, the heavy parchment fluttering slightly in the breeze.

Kaden's eyes locked onto the document. A flicker of genuine panic crossed his features, but he masked it instantly, his expression hardening into a mask of pure contempt.

"I have no idea what you're talking about," he announced, his voice loud and clear, designed to carry over the crowd. "I don't know you."

A collective gasp rippled through the onlookers. The sheer audacity of his lie sent all the blood rushing to my head. A rage so hot it threatened to consume me flared in my chest.

I forced my trembling hands to remain still, holding the proof higher. "You don't know me? Then what is this? Stamped by our Pack's Elder, witnessed by the Moon Goddess herself!"

Kaden let out a short, derisive laugh. "Oh, that piece of paper."

He turned to the onlookers, his posture relaxing into one of pained honesty. He was a terrifyingly good actor.

"Everyone, please, it's not what you think," he began his performance, shaking his head as if dealing with an unreasonable child. "This woman, Casey, is just an actress I hired back in my home Pack."

The crowd fell dead silent, hanging onto his every word.

"I was in a hurry to transfer here to Stone River for my duties," Kaden continued, his voice smooth and persuasive. "But my mother was ill and refused to let me leave unless I was settled with a mate. To give her peace of mind, I paid Casey to stage a fake bonding ceremony. That certificate is nothing but a prop."

He turned his cold eyes back to me, his lip curling in disgust. "I paid you handsomely for that job. Our transaction ended months ago. I never imagined you would be so greedy as to track me down and use a fake document to blackmail me."

The lie was so flawlessly delivered, so utterly shameless, that it left me breathless. And the worst part? It sounded plausible to them.

The atmosphere in the courtyard shifted instantly. The neighbors' gazes, once filled with sympathy for a wronged wife, now dripped with suspicion and disgust.

"Blackmail? Seriously?" Brenda muttered loudly, crossing her arms.

"I knew it," another woman sneered. "Look at her cheap clothes. She saw Kaden moving up in the ranks and decided she wanted a piece of his wealth. What a shameless gold-digger."

Hearing the crowd take Kaden's side, Jennifer pressed herself even closer to him. She looked up at him with wide, tearful eyes, her voice trembling like a fragile leaf. "Kaden... is that true? She just wants your money? How could someone be so cruel to ruin our day for coins?"

She was the perfect, helpless maiden, relying entirely on her strong Alpha warrior to protect her from the wicked, greedy Omega.

I was shaking so hard my teeth rattled. I never thought the man I married could be this vile, twisting our sacred bond into a dirty financial transaction.

"You're lying!" I screamed, my voice cracking under the weight of my fury. "Kaden Reynolds, if that's the truth, do you dare swear an oath to the Moon Goddess right now?"

In our world, swearing a false oath to the Goddess was a grave sin, one that invited immediate divine retribution.

Kaden's jaw tightened. A muscle ticked in his cheek, but he recovered his arrogant composure quickly. "Why would I risk insulting the Goddess by swearing an oath over a crazy, money-hungry stalker? You tried to extort me, and when it didn't work, you decided to make a public scene."

He was effortlessly turning the entire Pack against me.

"Look," I said, my voice dropping to a deadly, icy calm as I played my final card. I pulled the heavy silver key from my pocket, letting it catch the light. "The Alpha's own Beta gave me the key to your quarters. Do you really think Alpha Del Wolfe would authorize this if my certificate was a fake?"

At the mere mention of the Alpha's name, Kaden's arrogant facade finally fractured. A flicker of real, unadulterated panic flashed in his eyes.

But his ego was too fragile, and he was in too deep to back down now. He puffed out his chest, trying to regain his dominance. "Who knows what filthy tricks a desperate gold-digger like you used to deceive Beta Foster," he spat, his lip curling in disgust. "You'd probably do anything for a free place to stay."

Before I could even process the vile accusation, Kaden reached into his pocket and pulled out a thick wad of cash. With a flick of his wrist, he tossed it carelessly at my feet. The bills fluttered through the air, scattering across the dirt like discarded trash.

"Here," he sneered, his voice dripping with absolute condescension. "Consider this a generous tip for your 'acting' services. Now take the money and get out of my Pack before I have the guards throw you out for trespassing."

The bills lay there, resting against the toes of my worn shoes.